When I went to Greece I was surprised that what I’d always thought of as Greek Salad didn’t seem to exist there. Instead, every little restaurant had a dish they called country salad or village salad, which had cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, Kalamata olives, and feta, and a dressing which always contained oregano.

Now a few years later, one of my favorite Salt Lake City restaurants calls this combination Greek Salad and when it has lettuce added, they call it American Greek Salad. That works for me, and I do really like this type of Chopped Greek Salad.

When I made the Chopped Greek Salad with Peppers shown in these photos, I replaced the green pepper with chopped orange, red, and yellow peppers which are loaded with anti-oxidants. I used all the colors because they were on sale, but you could use just one color and it would still be pretty.

I used a purchased salad dressing with some dried Greek oregano added, but you could combine a little olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and salt and pepper if you wanted to make your own. There’s no need to measure the ingredients for this type of salad, so you can vary the proportions according to your own taste. But whatever you do, don’t skimp on the Feta Cheese! For me, that’s definitely the ingredient that makes Greek Salad such a wow!

How to Make Chopped Greek Salad with Peppers:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

Whisk the dried Greek oregano into 1/2 cup prepared vinaigrette dressing (or make your own homemade vinaigrette if you prefer.) I used Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) which is really low in carbs.

I used about a cup of grape tomatoes cut in half, but I’d like this salad even better with chopped tomatoes fresh from the garden.

I’m starting to get a few garden cucumbers, but for this salad I used mostly small Persian cucumbers from Costco.

I chopped the red, yellow, and orange bell pepper into bite-sized pieces. I’m not a big fan of raw onion in a salad, so I also chopped up some sliced green onions.

I’m crazy about Kalamata olives, but if I was making this for picky eaters I might even use black olives from a can. (That would make the salad even less authentically Greek, but it would still taste good!)

I cut the Feta cheese into cubes about a half-inch square for this salad, but in Greece they usually served a thin slice of Feta on top of the salad.

Put the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers onions, and olives into a bowl and stir in enough dressing to moisten all the ingredients. (You may not need all the dressing.)

Then gently stir in the feta cubes, season the salad with fresh ground black pepper to taste, and enjoy!

This salad tastes even better if you let it marinate for a few hours, and I found the leftovers to still be good even when it had been in the fridge a few days.

Chopped Greek Salad with Peppers

I loved all the colorful peppers in this Chopped Greek Salad with Peppers, but you can use all one color if that's what you have.

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients:

1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise (see notes)

1 large European cucumber (see notes)

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 orange bell pepper

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half

1/4 cup sliced green onion (optional)

1/2 cup diced Feta cheese (or more)

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup Newman’s Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (see notes)

1 tsp. dried oregano

Instructions

Mix oregano into salad dressing, set aside.

Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise, or dice garden tomatoes.

Peel cucumber in strips, leaving some green stripes lengthwise. (For small garden cucumbers or Persian cucumbers you may not need to peel.) Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise, then in slices.

Remove seeds from peppers and dice peppers in 3/4 inch square pieces.

Slice green onion into 1 inch long pieces.

Drain olives and cut in half lengthwise.

Cut Feta into cubes about 1/2 inch square.

Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, and olives and toss with desired amount of salad dressing. (You may not need all the dressing.)

Stir feta cubes into salad and season with fresh-ground black pepper.

The salad can be served immediately, but I like it best when the ingredients marinate for an hour or two.

This salad keeps surprisingly well in the refrigerator for a few days.

Notes

You can definitely use diced fresh garden tomatoes if you have some! If you don't have a European Cucumber, just use 2-3 small regular or Persian cucumbers. I love Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing (affiliate link) but you can use any purchased vinaigrette that's low in sugar.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This delicious and nutrient-rich Chopped Greek-Style Salad with Red, Yellow, and Orange Bell Peppers is also low-carb, gluten-free, and suitable for any phase of the original South Beach diet.

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Not many folks know that this is the authentic way to serve a Greek Salad- no lettuce, just chopped vegetables with a block of feta. Yours looks especially good! This is my favorite salad and one we make often at our house.